Finally! The band drought in New Zealand has broken and the international acts are now rolling in: Pearl Jam + Ben Harper, Slayer + Megadeth, Lamb of God, and a blast from the cocaine past, Fleetwood Mac.

The other keystone of the grunge movement, Pearl Jam, has announced two New Zealand shows: Friday 27 November at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland and Sunday 29 November at AMI Stadium in Christchurch. Tickets go on sale today for all you chumps who didn’t get pre-sale tickets last week. Pearl Jam also have another studio album called Backspacer due out in September and will be supported by Ben Harper and Liam Finn.

Slayer and Megadeth, two Gods of the thrash metal genre, team up together for one massive metalocalypse on Monday 5th October at the Logan Campbell Centre. I don’t need to say much more, ‘cause if you’re a metal fan you would sell your liver to see either of these bands, let alone both together.

Lamb of God returns to New Zealand on December 9th at Auckland Town Hall. Tickets are on sale 6 August.

The dirty Fleetwood Mac have one show only in New Zealand - on December 29, at the Bowl of Brooklyn, New Plymouth.

Also, a new super group is currently recording in L.A and any self-respecting rock fan will cream his or her pants at the line up. Them Crooked Vultures – Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) on guitar and vocals, Alain Johannes (Queens of the Stone Age) on guitar, Dave Grohl (Nirvana/Foo Fighters) on drums, and John Paul Jones (LED ZEPPELIN) on bass.

Also, along the rock newswire, over 50,000 have requested another “Rock 2 Wellington” event, so a “Rock 2 2010” is on the cards.

Ohhhh, so let there be ROCK!